But operating expenses grew 15% to HK$2 billion, as the company invested in fully upgrading its HSPA+ network to 42Mbps.

SmarTone is also currently upgrading its network to use multi-mode multi-band base stations, as a precursor to an eventual LTE rollout.

The operator has decided to use the 1800MHz band for LTE. Regarding the timing, SmarTone said in its annual report that it will wait to deploy until “we consider that technology and its ecosystem to be mature enough for our customers.”

Subsidiary SmartOne Macau launched HSPA+ services at the start of the financial year, and said initial response has been encouraging.